Machine for filling heel seats of shoes



Aug. 13, 1 J. T. LANCASTER MACHINE FOR FILLING HEEL SEATS 0F SHOESOriginal Filed May 22, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 13, 1940. J. T.LANCASTER MACHINE FOR FILLING HEEL SEATS OF SHOES Original Filed May 22,1936 2 SheetsShee 2 Z'mnentor Patented Aug. 13, 1940 OFFICE MACHINE FORFILLING HEEL SEATS .015; z .1 SHOES,'

M John '1; LancasterQNewton',

United Shoe Machinery Gorporation;-Borough,

Jersey 1 of Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New i20s5mr applicationMaya, 19536, Serial No.

v "81,299. Divided and this application March 13,1938, Serial No.193,755". v v

' 8 Claims. (01. 12- ,-79.s I

This invention'relates to a machine for applying filling material to ashoe and is herein illuse trated as embodied in a".;'machineparticularly adapted to apply a plastic adhesive material to the heelseat of a shoe preparatoryto the attaching of a heel, the presentapplication being a division of application Serial No; 81,299, filed May22,1936, upon which United States Letters Pgatent No. 2,173,971 wasgranted-September 26, 1 39.

In the manufacture of shoes it is customary to attach the heelstemporarily, for example by cement, while a shoe is on its last, then toperform certain operations upon the shoe, and subsequently to pull thelast' and permanently fasten the heel in place by nails driven frominside of the shoe; The heel seatof a shoe commonly consists of the heelend of the insole, a stifi fiber reinforcing piece,theover-lasted'margins of the upper materials, and a portion of the heelend of the outsole in the form of a tab of the general outline of ahorseshoe themargin of which has been beveled so as to give its uppersurfaces. convexity which corresponds to some extent to the concavity inthe attaching face of the heel. A heel seat is thus made up of partswhich are fastened together at separate localities, does not present acontinuous surface corresponding in shape to the attaching face of theheel, and consists of parts which are spaced from each other at severallocalities so that certain voids [are present.

It is desirable that the heel seat should be as nearly as possible a,firm solid mass including a substance which fills all the voids,presents a surface which is as nearly as possible the counterpart of theattaching face of the heel, is or can readily be made adhesive so that aheel pressed against it will readily adhere to it, and, when set, isstrong and elastic enough to receive and firmly hold the heel attachingnails.

To this end there is provided a machine for preparing a, partlyfabricated shoe for the attaching of a heel having a die provided with acavity the wall of which corresponds in shapeto'that of the attachingface of the heel, meansfor pressing the rim of the cavity againstfthebottombf the heel end of the 'shoe, and 'means for forcing fillingmaterial into thecavity and against the bottom of the shoe. In theillustrated construction, the shoe is supported bottom side up upon ajack beneath a" die; the die' is moved down toforce the rim of it'scavity against the bottom of the shoe; and a valve is opened'topermitffilling material under'pressure to new from areceptacle'through aconduit-into the'die cavity and upon the bottomlof the heel end of theshoe. A plurality of interchangeable dies having differently shapedcavities areprovided for use with variousheels having differently shapedattached faces.

' Referring to the accompanying drawings,

Fig, lis aperspective of a shoe having a heel seat made according to thepresent invention; Fig.2;is a side elevation of a machine for applyingfilling material to the bottom of the heel endiofla shoe; i

Big. Bis a: front elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 2;

v 'Fig'. 4" is a detail .partly in section and partly in elevationshowing alshoe in process of having a heel attached by nails; and I Fig.5 isa similar .detail showing a Goodyear welt shoe having no shankstifiener and with the filling material extending into the space betweenthe shank" portions of the insole andthe outsole. T Theheelseat of ashoe commonly comprises a cavity the bottom of which is formed by aportion of the under face of the insole and the edge of whichis definedaroundthe sides and rear of the heel end of theshoe by the edges-of theoverlasted margins of the upper materials, this cavity being more orlesscovered, ifa long outsole is present, by a tabatthe heel end of sucha sole. Sometimes a s'mall filler piece'is placed in the cavity. In anycase, the parts of the heel seat are sepa-, rated more orless so that,voids are present.

The purpose of the machine shown in Figs. 2

and-3 is to stiffen and strengthen the heel seat by placing upon thebottom of the heel end of the shoe 3,. quantity of plastic" fillingmaterial comprising acomminuted solid and a sticky binder, andbyapplying pressure to the filling material in such manner as toforcesaid material into the voids and to impart aproperly shaped surface tothe finished seat.

,Slidably-mountedin a suitable horizontalguideway near the bottom of theframe I of the machine is a carrier 9' which may be adjusted in and out(to .theright'or left as viewed in Fig. 2) by turning 'a-hand wheel'l'lwhich is fastto the stem of a screw 13., This screw is threaded into theframeand'has. int egra1 with it a collar l5 which extends into'la groovein the carrier 9 so that turning the screw adjusts the carrier.Pivotedatl']; betwee'n lugs on the carrier is a block l9 carrying alastpin 2| adapted to, be received in the last-pin hole me last I00 on whicha partly fabricated shoe constructionas a whole for thefshoe'which canforms a jack or support be adjusted to aline the 200 is mounted. Theabove heel end of the shoe with the die presently to be described andwhich permits the shoe to swing more or less to accommodate itself tothe die. Above the jack is a die 23 having in its lower face a cavitythe wall of which corresponds to the shape of the attaching face of theheel which is to be attached, the rim of the cavity being adapt ed to beforced against the generally horseshoeshaped margin of the uppermaterials at the heel end of the shoe and across the shoe atapproximately the locality in which the forward edge of the heel will belocated in the finished shoe. The shape of the cavity will vary somewhatnot only according to the shape of the heel which is to be attached butalso according to the kind of sole which is employed. The shoeillustrated in Fig. 4 has a short sole 300 having a small tongue or tab400; and the forward edge or lip of the Louis heel 500 fits into thespace between the tab and a heel breast covering flap 600. In the caseof such a heel and shoe, the forward part of the rim of the cavity inthe die extends across the tab and part of the overlasted margins of theupper materials at each side of it at a locality containing the point Ion the forward edge of the lip of the heel. In the figure, the uppermaterials have been shown for convenience as consisting of a singlelayer 800 although it will be understood that there are usually anupper, a counter and a lining at the heel end of the shoe.

The die 23 is mounted for swinging movement by means of alined screws 25having portions which are threaded through the arms of a fork 21 andcylindrical inner ends which are received in sockets formed in oppositesides of the die. The fork is fastened by a tapered pin 29 to the lowerend of a screw 3| which is threaded through a bevel gear 33 and isguided in vertical alined bores formed in two guide members 35, 37 whichare rigid with the frame of the machine, said members being locatedrespectively above and below the bevel gear 33, there being above thegear between its hub and the upper guide member 35 a ball thrust bearing39. A second bevel gear 4| meshes with the bevel gear 33, said gear 4!being fastened by a tapered pin 43 to a short rotatable horizontal shaft45 to which is also pinned the hub of a crank 41 hav ing a handle 49 bywhich it may be turned to rotate the bevel gear 33 and thereby raise orlower the die 23.

Fastened to the upper part of the frame by cap screws is a receptaclefor filling material which consists of a mixture of coarse sawdust witha sticky binder of pyroxylin rendered soft by a volatile solvent so thatthe material may be forced out of the receptacle through a conduit intothe die. The receptacle has its open top normally closed by a cover 53hinged to the receptacle at 55 and adapted to be clamped down by an eyebolt 5'! through the eye of which passes a stud 59 mounted in alinedbores in two lugs El formed on a wall of the receptacle, the upper endof the eye bolt being adapted to be swung into the position shownbetween twolugs 63 formed on the cover and having its upper end threadedto receive a clamping screw 65. The cover carries on its under side agasket which makes an air-tight joint with the top of the receptacle.Into the upper part of the receptacle leads one end of a pipe 61 theother end of which is connected to a source of compressed air, a valve69 being provided in said pipe. When the valve has been closed the cover5 3 may be raised and the receptacle may be charged with fillingmaterial. The cover may then be closed and the valve opened, whereuponthe compressed air exerts a pressure upon the filling material whichacts, when permitted to do so, to force the filling material from thereceptacle.

From the bottom of the receptacle a flexible pipe H leads to a shorthorizontal metal pipe 73 which in turn leads into the upper end of avertical conduit 15 formed in the die 25. The lower end of this verticalconduit opens into a dovetailed horizontal groove which is incommunication with the cavity in the die; and slideble in this groove isa valve 11 the lower face of which, when the valve is closed, forms acontinuation of the curved wall of the cavity. When the valve is opened,filling material will flow into the cavity, and the pressure upon thefilling material will force it into the voids in the heel end of theshoe as to fill these voids completely and also fill the cavity in thedie. When new the valve has been closed by being moved to 'theleft (Fig.2) into the position shown, the die may be raised and the shoe removedwith" the filling material 900 (Fig. 1) located properly on the heel endof the shoe and presentingan exposed surface which is the counterpart ofthe attaching face of the heel. In order to lessen the tendency of thefilling material to stick to the polished surface of the wall of thecavity in the die, the die may be heated if desired, for example bymeans of an electrical heat unit 19 the leads of which are indicated atBI, 83. The valve 11 carries near its outer end a pin 85 receivedbetween the arms of a fork 81 the hub of which is fast to a rockshaft 89to which is also fast the hub of a han- 'dle 9|.

In the'operation of the machine the die is raised by turning the crank41 in the proper direction, and a shoe is placed upon the jack which haspreviously been adjusted in the proper position. The crank 41 is turnedto force the die down upon the heel end of the shoe as shown in thedrawings, the generally horseshoe-shaped part of the rim of the cavityin the die engaging the overlasted margin of the upper material aroundthe rear and along the sides of the bottomof the heel end of the shoe,and the forward part ofthe rim of the cavity extending across the bottomof the shoe in the locality in which the forward-edge of the heel willlie in the finished shoe. The die is pressed against the shoe withconsiderable force so as to form a tight joint'between the rim of thecavity in the die and the bottom of the shoe, as well as to form ahorseshoe-shaped indentation in the overlasted upper material. Thehandle 9| is manipulated to open the valve 7'! whereupon fillingmaterial "is forced into the cavity in the die and upon the bottom ofthe shoe. closed, the die is raised, and the shoe is removed.

The filling material is sticky when the shoe is removed from themachine, and a heel may be "attached at once by pressing it into place.

Otherwise the cement may be permitted to set hard, in which case it willbe activated by treatment'with a softener such as acetone just beforethe heel is pressed in place. In either case, after the heel has thusbeen attached by cement, various operations will commonly be performedupon the shoe, the last will then be pulled and the heel nailed to theshoe. For this nailing operation],any'suitable nailing machine may be isclamped against the heel end of the shoe and held firmly during thedriving of the nails 99 by means of a tread plate IM and an auxiliarysupport H33 having a rubber heel-engaging surface. It will be noted thatthe heel seat of the shoe is exceedingly stiff and firm due to thepresence of the hardened filling material, that the holding power of thenails is greatly-increased due to the quantity andnature of the fillingmaterial through which they are driven, and that with this rigid heelseat and firm attachment of the heel, the tendency for an unsightly gapto appear between the rim of the heel and the adjacent overlasted marginof the upper is obviated.

Although the invention has been described above with relation to fillingand strengthening the heel seat, it is pointed out that filling materialwill also be forced into whatever space may exist in the shank portionof the shoe. Commonly there is a shank stifiener in the shank portionbetween the insole and the outsole, said shank stiffener being of suchwidth that there is a narrow space between the insole and the outsole oneach side of the shank stiffener into which filling material will beforced to stiffen the shank of the shoe as well as the heel seat. And,by omitting the usual shank stiffener, the filling material may becaused to fill all the space between the insole and the outsole so that,when hardened, it takes the place of the usual shank stifiener.

In Fig. 5 there is shown a Goodyear welt shoe having an insole H00 andan outsole I200, there being no shank stifiener between them so that, inthe lasted shoe before the filling 900 is applied, there is a spacebetween the insole and the outsole in the shank portions thereof. With ashoe of this type some of the filling material is forced into this spaceand, when hardened, takes the place of the usual shank stiffener.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A machine for preparing a partly fabricated shoe for the attachingbination, a die having a cavity the-wall corresponds in shape to theattaching face of the heel, means for pressing the rim of the cavityagainst the bottom of the heel end of the shoe, and means for forcingfilling material into the cavity and against the bottom of the shoe.

2. A machine for preparing a partly fabricated shoe for the attaching ofa heel having, in combination, a die having a cavity the wall of whichcorresponds in shape to the attaching face of the heel, means forcausing relative movement of approach between the die and the shoe topress the die against the bottom of the heel end of the shoe, means forforcing plastic filling material to of a heel having, in comof whichflow through the die into the cavity and upon the shoe, and a valve tocontrol said flow of filling material. 1

3. A machine for preparing a partly fabricated shoe forthe attaching ofa heel having, in combination, a die having a cavity the wall of whichcorresponds in shape to the attaching face of the heel, means forcausing relative movement of approach between the die and the shoe topress the die against the bottom of the heel end of the shoe, means forforcing plastic filling material to flow through the die into the cavityand upon the shoe, and a valve which is adapted to be closed to preventsuch flow when no shoe is being operated upon and is adapted to beopened after the die and shoe have been pressedtogether.

4. A machine for preparing a partly fabricated shoe for the attaching ofa heel having, in combination, a die having a cavity the wall of whichcorresponds in shape to the attaching face of the heel, means forpressing the rim of the cavity against the bottom of the heel end of theshoe, a receptacle for filling material, a conduit leading from thereceptacle into the cavity in the die, and a valve for controlling theflow of filling material through the conduit.

5. A machine for preparing a partly fabricated shoe for the attaching ofa heel having, in combination, a die having. a cavity the wall of whichcorresponds in shape to the attaching face of the heel, means forpressing the rim of the cavity against the bottom of the heel end of theshoe,

a receptacle for filling material, a conduit leading from the receptacleinto the cavity in the die, and a valve for controlling the flow offilling material through the conduit, said valve when closed forming apart ofthe wall of the cavity.

6. A machine for applying filling material to the bottom of a partlyfabricated shoe having, in combination, a support for a shoe, a diehaving a cavity of the shape and outline desired to be imparted to thefilling material, a carrier in which the die is mounted for angularmovement, means for causing the die to be pressed against the bottom ofthe shoe, and means for forcing filling material into the cavity. I

'7. A machine for applying filling material to the bottom of a partlyfabricated shoe having,

in combination, a shoe. support mounted for swinging movement, a diehaving a cavity of the shape and outline desired to be imparted to thefilling material, a carrier in which the die is mounted for swingingmovement in a path at an angle to the path'of swinging movement of theshoe support, means for causing the die-to be pressed against the bottomof the shoe. and means for forcing filling material into the cavity.

8. A machine for filling a cavity in the bottom of a shoe having, incombination, a die having a cavity of the shape and outline desired tobe im-, filling material, a carrier in which.

parted to the the die is mounted for angular movement, a jack on whichthe shoe is mounted for angular movement, means for causing the dieto bepressed against the bottom of the shoe, and means for forcing fillingmaterial into the cavity.

JOHN T. LANCASTER.

